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| India-Pakistan |
| Sarabjit Singh's body flown to India |
| 2013-05-03 |
| [Pak Daily Times] The body of convicted Indian spy Sarabjit Singh, who died on Thursday nearly a week after he was attacked by fellow prisoners, was flown to India from Lahore on a special aircraft sent by New Delhi. Indian foreign ministry front man Syed Akbaruddin had earlier said it was "our primary focus" to ensure that Singh's body was returned to India and given a proper burial. He denied that Singh was an Indian spy. There was anger in India over his death. "The criminals responsible for the barbaric and murderous attack on Sarabjit Singh must be brought to justice," Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on his official Twitter page. Pakistain flags were burned at angry protests in Singh's native Bhikhiwind village, in Indian Punjab. India complained that its diplomats were denied access to the prisoner as he fought for his life, and the premier said it was "particularly regrettable" that Pakistain had not responded to appeals "to take a humanitarian view of this case". Pakistain insists regular consular access was granted to Singh and said doctors did everything possible to save him before his death from cardiac arrest. "The prisoner, who had been in a comatose state and on a ventilator for the last few days, was being provided the best treatment available and the medical staff at Jinnah Hospital had been working round the clock... to save his life," the foreign ministry said. The government provided "all assistance" to Singh's family and the Indian authorities, it added in a statement. Singh's body was handed over to Indian officials on Thursday evening who took it to India on a special plane after fulfilling the legal procedure. The Indian plane was delayed for some time, as the basic paperwork had not been completed. Later, it took off from the Lahore airport after receiving clearance from the customs and Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) officials at around 7:25pm. The body had been stopped from leaving Pakistain by customs officials who sought a NOC from the Foreign Ministry and the police report. After the body was cleared by customs, it was stopped by the ANF officials who sought a clearance certificate from the hospital. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 The body had been stopped from leaving Pakistain by customs officials who sought a NOC from the Foreign Ministry and the police report. After the body was cleared by customs, it was stopped by the ANF officials who sought a clearance certificate from the hospital. Almost sounds like it was a matter of adding insult to injury. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2013-05-03 11:44 |